The Tiger Stalker
by evilqueen13
Summary: There is a serial killer on the loose and Shindou is his next target. Shuichi gets a bodyguard, who gets a kick out of pissing poor Shu off. It's loaded with foul language, blood, jokes, and one really angry kitten in chapter 6. Complete!
1. Letters

I don't own anything accept the psychopath.

this is the first time I have ever publicly displayed anything I have written. I hope it's at least interesting. dons flameproof jacket and helmet

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The Letters

Yuki was having a good day. His noisy lover was off at work. He had just finished his latest novel and now that it was off being published and printed he had some time to himself. He was even toying with the idea of getting an early start on the next book. Why not, he had a few good ideas swimming around in his head.

He looked out the window at the city below. The rag tag end of winter had given way to spring. Shuichi had been living with Yuki for over two years now. They were in love despite the rocky start to their relationship. Shuichi was still annoying and Yuki was still moody, but now there was an unspoken promise that was understood even during the worst fights, a promise to stay, a promise to trust, a promise to love.

Yep, everything was really good, that is, until the mail came. A plain letter not much to look at. Yuki could see his name and address scribbled across the otherwise blank envelope. It didn't even have a stamp on it. Yuki swallowed hard. He had gotten a letter like this once before, about two weeks ago. It was a strange letter, that didn't say much. Just a note asking about the restaurant the two had been to the night before. It was creepy, but Yuki passed it off as some crazy fan that must have spotted them and wanted to mess with their heads. He didn't even bother to show it Shuichi.

Yuki looked at the new letter as a wave of nausea washed over him. He it ripped open and read:

_Dear Yuki, You two were cute in the park last night after your fight. Did you have sex again when you got home? I am going to get him for myself you know. I hope he tastes as sweet as he looks. I can't wait to break him._

Yuki's mind started to race as the meaning of the words sunk in. How did this person know about last night? Where the hell did this come from? Was this guy actually serious or was he just trying to scare them? Letters from stalkers were actually nothing new, but this second letter was too frightening to ignore.

Crap, he was going to have to tell the police about this. He cursed the author of the letter for ruining his day. Yuki's mind ran over the words again. Was Shuichi really in danger? Yuki picked up the phone to call Shuichi's cellular. He didn't want Shu walking home alone. Yuki felt his throat tighten as he waited for his lover to pick up. Nothing, shit. That idiot probably forgot to charge the damn thing again.

He was dialing the studio when, to Yuki's surprise Shuichi came home early. He wasn't supposed to be done with work for another two hours, and he didn't bother to greet the blond man they way he always did. He just dragged himself trough the door and sat on the couch. If it weren't for the sound of the door closing he would have never realized Shuichi had come home at all. Shuichi normally bounced off the walls. He was chaos of energy and love, but today something was wrong, really wrong. Yuki approached his despondent partner. Shuichi was seated on the couch with his head hung over like he was going to be sick.

"Baka, what's wrong?" Yuki said as he sat down on the armrest of the chair and ran his fingers through Shuichi's mop of pink hair.

"Yuki, do you always have to call me that?" Shuichi grumbled.

"No, I don't have to call you that… Hey brat, what's wrong?"

Shuichi puffed before replying, "Do you actually care, or are you just worried about weather you will get laid tonight?"

"Hey, you don't get to be the cranky one here. That's my job. You're supposed to be the cute one, remember."

"Yukiiii you're always so mean to me. Can't you just leave me alone?" Shuichi's voice had reached 8.9 on the whine scale. It was a pitch that can only be described as, instant headache.

Yuki couldn't help but wonder, 'What did I do?.. Oh wait maybe it's something I didn't do. Maybe I forgot something.' Yuki quickly lost his patience with this guessing game and started to get aggravated. He got up and started for his office. He spoke again not looking at Shuichi "Why the hell are you so cranky? You're the one moping around like somebody kicked your puppy. I am just worried about you, but if you really don't want to talk to me then fine I'll be in my office wo..."

Shuichi pounced Yuki from behind, "Yukiiii, Something's happened at the studio. " His eyes filling up with tears. Yuki peeled him off and gathered him into a hug. He noted how good it was to feel the weight of his tiny lover's body in his arms.

"There have been some letters arriving at the studio that have everybody worried. They contacted the police about it." Shuichi choked. " It's not like this hasn't happened before but this time K said the letters mentioned things. Things about you and me." He started to cry. "Oh yuuukkkiiiii I'm so scared. I feel like this is all my fault. Please don't be mad at me. I didn't do anything wrong this time."

"Were they letters like these?" Yuki held up the two letters he had been examining. Shuichi just stared in shock looking them over mouth agape. As he read over the letters he didn't say a word, but Yuki noticed he has started to shake. This was bad. Yugi had never known his lover to be speechless before.

When Shuichi did speak his voice sounded a million miles away, "Why didn't you tell me about these before?"

The first one looked like a simple prank. The other one just came today. I was about to tell you, but we got distracted."

Shuichi slumped back onto the couch. Yuki couldn't help but notice how exhausted he looked. "K arranged a meeting with a detective about this tomorrow. Yuki will you please come with me?"

"Yea, I'll come, but you're going to owe Me."

"Owe you what?"

"You know"

"Yuki! How can you think of sex at a time like this?"

"Actually it's pretty easy. You should try it sometime, like right now."

He buried his head in Yuki's chest, "Yukiii! Stop being a pervert." He whined through a mouthful of shirt.

Yuki didn't really want sex. He just didn't want to let his lover know that he was scared to death too.

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Thanks readers. Weather you love it or hate it I would love to hear from you. 


	2. The meeting

The Detective

In the morning the first rains of the season had set in. There was always something about the first rains of the season. Spring rain has a weird way of being both hopeful and dreary all at the same time. Memories of warm weather stir, mixing with the emotions brought on by the day's somber grayness. The rain dripped off the roof, slid down the windows, and fell away to its destination on the ground below. One pair of eyes followed this journey as he sipped his coffee. As Yuki sat there in the kitchen, with his mind lost in the gentle pattering sound, for just a moment he had forgotten what the day had in store for him.

A pair of arms wrapped around Yuki from behind. It was the half-hearted good morning glomp. Shuichi was never very good with mornings. Still half asleep he yawned in Yuki's ear, "Good morning love. Sleep well?"

"Mmm, what about you?"

"No, I had the weirdest dream." Normally this phrase was Yuki's cue to dart off to his office and 'work', but Shuichi still had him in his arms; he wasn't going anywhere. "You know that lady Joan Rivers, yea well, we were in Las Vegas and for some reason Joan and I had to share a room."

Yuki cringed at the mental picture "Um, EW! Did you make yourself something to eat before you went to sleep?"

"Listen, it gets better."

"Better?"

"Yes, anyway I flooded the hotel room. The bed was floating a way and everything and Joan was really mad, so she sent a gorilla after me."

For the first time in his life Yuki was happy when K broke down the door in a hail of gunfire. Yea! Now all Yuki had to do was get the thought Joan Rivers out of his head. Ew.

It was time to meet the detective; hopefully this mess would all be over when they find the idiot teenager with a panache for pranks and evil letters.

The stormy spring weather brought with it the winds. Winds that blew unpredictably. Playfully rustling in different directions ruffling hair and sweeping away light things out of peoples hands. Light things like papers, papers with directions written on them. Directions, like the ones to the detectives office. Damn it!

Three hours later.

Hiro, Suguru, and Tohma were bored to death. The detective was working and asked not to be bothered until the entire party had arrived. They were about to send out the hounds and form a search party (actually, it was more like a lynch mob), when the other three finally arrived.

"Where.." Tohma started.

"Don't ask, please don't ask." K cut him off.

Yuki couldn't help but notice the door they were walking into was an office for international investigations. What the hell? This did not bode well. "Everyone, this is Detective George Brown. He's a special investigator who has taken up this case for us." K announced.

At the head of the desk the Detective stood up to greet his guests. The wall behind his back was littered with things he had tacked up. There were articles in several different languages, fuzzy surveillance pictures, and other scraps of paper. Brown was an English man only two inches shorter than Yuki, in his 50's with a strong build and messy, graying hair.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all I already know who all of you are." He nodded over at Yuki and Shuichi, "Mr. Shindou and Mr. Uesugi." Shuichi watched as the detective sized him up. "Ok, I am not one to waist time with beating around the bush. This is a very serious matter, so let's get right to the point shall we?"

The detective threw down some pictures naming each of them as they hit the desk, "England, Germany, America, and Ireland." Yuki glanced at the pictures in horror. Shuichi stood up to get a better view and immediately went very pale. They were all of little colorful type guys covered in blood all dead. Shindou appeared as if he was going to faint. He fell back in the chair behind him without a word staring blankly at the detective.

"I have seen the letters you both have been getting and I can say that I am sure the one who wrote these is the same man I have been tracking across four countries." Shuichi watched as the man paced this way and that way as he spoke. "He's known as the tiger stalker. He gets his kicks off of others pain and suffering. He picks a target and starts with the letters. So far all of the victims have been lead singers. He apparently either really likes or really hates music. He sets up a place to commit his crime wile he torments his victims. Eventually he grabs them, after that we only find the bodies." Brown's pause was like a silent curse. "He is called the tiger stalker because he cuts his victims up making patterns like tigers stripes wile they are fully conscious he likes to watch them bleed. He finally kills them by slitting the victims throat, but the last victim died from loss of blood before that."

"Mr. Shindou, were all the events in the letters correct?" Shuichi nodded mindlessly not really looking at the detective anymore, his gaze was fixed on the wall of articles behind him.

Yuki could feel his chest clenching up. He could almost picture Shuichi in one of those pictures torn and broken. This was not what he was expecting at all. Yuki put his hand on Shuichi's shoulder. He could see Shu was scared, and had gone uncharacteristically quiet again. It took a wile before Shuichi spoke and when he did his voice sounded so small and lost. "Don't you even know what this guy looks like yet? Don't you have any clues? What are we supposed to do about this?"

Yuki could see his lover was really struggling to keep it together. He just held on to Shindou's shoulder in some way attempting to make sure his lover didn't just disappear right then and there.

Brown looked at him. "We don't suggest going into hiding because that didn't work for the last two victims. We don't expect this guy to make a move anytime soon, so we are canvassing the area as best we can to search for people who have moved in during the past few months. We are also doing a check of all the abandoned buildings in the area. He will set up the trap in one of those. He likes places that are deserted. The kind of place you can scream for help and nobody will hear you."

"Wait a minute" k shouted, "What the heck, do you mean to say you lost two people under close surveillance?"

"He managed to get the last two subjects off on their own using threats to friends and family. Once they managed to get them off on their own, he used a device to block the tracking devices we had planted and… well you see what happened to the American and the German."

"We have a tour to start in two weeks. We can't cancel it now." Shuichi moaned in anguish.

"It's probably best you don't cancel. It takes this guy over a year to set up his plan. We know he won't do anything unless he's researched every possible angle. There won't be any routine habits for him to learn and follow with Mr. Shindou on the move. He won't have the time he needs to form his plan the way he likes. We suspect he isn't going to strike until sometime after you get back from touring."

Yuki couldn't contain himself any longer "SUSPECT? You suspect he won't make his move? You're guessing about what this guy might do while people are dying? What the hell is going on! What kind of crackpot detective are you!" Yuki had left Shuichi's side and was now an inch from the detective's face. Brown didn't flinch for a second. He just returned the most intense stare that Yuki had ever seen.

Brown spat through clenched teeth, "We are doing our best Mr. Uesugi. This guy is nothing like anything we have ever encountered before. I have all the top people from around the world working with me on bringing this guy down."

"Yea, well so far your best has four people dead." Yuki's voice took a dangerous growl returning the same intense stare.

Brown's face started to turn red. Yuki had obviously hit a tender subject. "I will have you know that I have been catching these monsters long before you were born, kiddo! I've seen the darkest parts of the human soul and this guy is not your average psychopath. So unless you want to see your friend over there get hurt, you're gonna' to have to deal with me."

K grabbed Yuki's shoulder and pulled him back a few steps "Listen, Yuki it's not like we have a choice. This guy after Shindou is dangerous and like it or not we need this man to help us." K was staring at the detective wearily. He didn't seem to like Brown either.

"So Mr. Shindou it's up to you. Do you want to continue with the tour or not." Tohma's voice, as always, was like the smooth edge of a very sharp knife, you barely feel it, until it cuts you right through.

Hiro looked at Tohma. He didn't like this idea at all, "Shuichi you don't have to do this for us. Bad luck will be fine if we skip the tour."

"It's up to Mr. Shindou weather or not he wants to disappoint his fans over this." Tohma continued never lifting his gaze from Shuichi.

Shuichi looked up at his friend, "Hiro, what am I going to do, just sit here and wait for the guy? No, I want to do this."

Shuichi met Tohma's eyes with a blank stare. "Yes, We can't cancel the tour now, it's been sold out for weeks already." He said with a sigh of resignation.

"Fine," mused Tohma.

"I'm coming with him." Tohma's face lost its trademark smile for a second as he turned to verify what he just heard.

"Eiri, you want to go with him?" Tohma's eyebrows disappeared under the brim of his pimp hat.

Yuki coldly regarded the smaller man for a minute. "Yes, I have to do some book signings for my latest work I can arrange them around the stops on the tour."

"Fine, whatever you want." Tohma sighed exasperated.

Brown looked around at everybody. This was the moment he was waiting for, "Ok, now that that's settled, Mr. K is it? I am going to need you to go through the security needs with you. We need to pull out all the stops. I want extra security, full camera surveillance, the works. We already have Mr. Shindou's apartment under surveillance. We are going to catch this guy no matter what it takes." Brown said rubbing his hands together like he was about to enjoy a fine dinner.

Shuichi grabbed Yuki's hand and gave it a quick squeeze. Yuki looked at him even though he had his head down Yuki knew he had, had enough of all this and just needed to go home.

The ride home was short, 15 minutes to be exact, and quiet. Yuki watched Shuichi waiting for the singer to start talking again. All this quiet was getting on his nerves. He stopped for a second when he realized he was about to complain about it being too quiet. "Oh yes", he thought to himself, "I've lost it."

Once home, Shuichi immediately flopped into the couch and sank into it where he stayed not moving. His mind was spinning so fast it had left his body behind. Yuki looked out the window and saw the surveillance van parked in the street below. Every move was going to be watched. He shuttered at the thought. This might even cut into their sex life... Then again if he could somehow get a copy of a tape of them… He turned to see the small form of his lover attempting to become one with the couch. "Hey Shu while you're down there see if you can find my pen. I haven't seen it since yesterday, and try not to hog all the spare change. Most of it's mine anyway."

Shuichi wasn't amused. He did want to burry himself in those cushions and never come out again. He wanted so bad to wake up and find everything was back to normal.

Yuki stood over him for a wile, to think of what that psycho wanted to do to him was too much. He hated feeling like there was nothing he could do. The stalker was a mystery, no face to place his hatred upon. Yuki wanted to kill this guy. Shu looked up to see the expression on Yuki's face. He balked and sat up, " Yuki! Are you mad at me? I am so sorry for dragging you into this! Oh Yuuukiiiii." He made a move to grab Yuki around his waist. Yuki knew what was coming and caught Shuichi first. He pulled him into a tight hug. Holding him close and tight so he could smell the strawberry shampoo. He just stood there breathing his lover in, wishing for all the world he could protect him from everything. He wanted to never let go of him ever again.

"Shu-chan, please don't worry we'll get through this. I will never let anything bad happen to you. Ok? C'mon let's get some sleep." Shuichi was exhausted after a few hours he did manage to fall asleep.

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I want to thank all my readers and those who took time out to review my story. It really means a lot to me.

Again, I don't care if you feel the need to tell me I suck I want to hear about it. (I only ask that you be ready to tell me how I suck.)


	3. The Bodyguard

The Bodyguard

The next day, Shuichi woke up only to remember the nightmare his life had become. It made his head hurt. Yuki was already having his coffee and looking slightly worse for wear as well. K came to pick his singer up in his usual fashion, locked and loaded with heavy artillery.

Shuichi dragged himself out of bed under the bead of K's shiny new AK-47. Shuichi really felt like arguing about going to work, but K just had too many weapons. Shuichi tripped over his clothing from last night knocking into K, causing K to open fire, making a lovely new window out of the apartment wall.

"K, can you please try not to kill him before the psycho does?" Yuki muttered from behind his newspaper.

The day had only just begun.

There was a surprise waiting for him at work. Brown was there at the studio, waiting for Shuichi to arrive. "Mr. Shindou I would like you to meet Chris Porte. He's going to be following you around for a wile to make sure you're safe."

Chris was a young sandy brown haired man, who happened to be built like a god. He was in his early 20's fully muscled with broad shoulders for somebody so short. He was only 4" taller than Shuichi. Chris looked at Shuichi; the small pink singer seemed to be a shock to his system. "Uh, Hello, Shindou-san, I am sure it will be a pleasure working for you." He spoke with an American accent.

Shuichi looked up at him in horror. So far his experience with Americans was painful to say the least. "Oh no," he thought, "not another nut job." Chris seemed to be sizing up his small charge with equal horror.

Shuichi looked at K waiting for him to speak up. K just stood there leaning against the wall. "K what the hell is going on? I don't need a bodyguard. K, you can't do this!"

"Shuichi, This has already been decided. You are far to valuable to lose to some freak. I have checked this guy out and he seems like the perfect match for you. Mind you it wasn't easy. We had to find somebody who would be able to keep up with your…. um outbursts." K moved around and put a hand on Chris's shoulder. "He's a little unorthodox, which is why I think you two will do fine together." K smiled. "Now make nice."

"You are going to follow me everywhere?" Shuichi whined.

"Oh great, " Chris thought, "He's stupid too."

"Yep, that's the general idea, to keep an eye on you at all times." Chris was starting to regret his new job.

"I can't go anywhere without you?" Shu asked darkly.

"Would you rather have a stranger cut you into tiny bits?"

"Do you have to follow me into the bathroom?"

……. glares

"It was an honest question."

"Here's an honest question. Why is your hair pink? And are those contacts or are your eyes actually purple?"

"I like pink. What's the matter you got something against pink?"

"Are you sure you're a guy?"

"I guess you'll find out when you follow me into the bathroom."

"Geez, They told me you were gay, they didn't tell me you were the poster child for homosexuality."

"You got a problem with gay?"

"No, I have a problem with you." Chris said before he rounded on K and Brown, who were both leaning on against the wall with giant smirks on their faces as they watched the whole encounter, "I have to protect this guy with my life?"

"Yep." Brown could hardly contain his laughter

"You're fired!" Shuichi puffed. He was not a happy camper. That vein in the side of his forehead was pulsing. He was ready to blow.

"You can't fire me, Pinky."

"But Shuichi, you two look so cute together." K joked.

The two men shot each other death glares.

K was done watching the tirade, "Ok, that's enough you two. Shuichi we have recording to do. Hiro and Suguru are waiting."

Shuichi made his way into the recording room followed by Chris. Hiro and Suguru were tuning up when he walked in the door. They both noticed Shuichi's new attaché that trailed behind him.

"Hey guys, this is Chris. He's going to be following me until this whole stalker mess gets solved."

Hiro walked up behind Chris and thumped him on his back. "Hi, I'm Hiro guitarist and best friend. Hiro said shaking Chris's hand, "So, who did you piss off to get this job?"

"That's our keyboardist Suguru." Shuichi pointed out the youngest member of the band.

Suguru gave a small wave as he piped up, "I hope you have some kind of super powers, because keeping up with Shuichi isn't going to be easy."

Suguru was looking the newcomer over, and he seemed to be enjoying the view. Once Suguru realized that his stare was being noticed, he glanced away quickly before blurting out, "Hey, do you have to follow him the bathroom?" His comment was answered by a microphone hitting him at the side of his head, thrown by Shuichi.

The rest of the day was spent recording a new single. It took incredibly long since Shuichi was so thrown off by everything that was going on. He couldn't get anything straight, even after K fired off a few rounds at him, which caused Chris tackle K in an attempt to 'save' Shuichi. Hiro was still laughing a half an hour later.

Work ran well into the evening. K gave Chris and Shuichi a ride home. It was now that Shuichi realized something that caused him to panic. What was Yuki going to think about this? Oh man, this was going to be bad. Yuki would probably make him sleep at NG until this mess was over. "Um Chris, do you really have to stay with me even at home?" Shuichi asked hesitantly.

K interrupted, "Shuichi, try to understand this is only until they catch the killer. Do you remember what the other victims looked like?"

"I'm just thinking what I'm going to look like after Yuki gets a load of this." He said with a sigh.

"Yuki?" Chris said raising an eyebrow.

"Uh, yea, nobody told you I'm living with somebody?"

"Uh, no." Annoyance rising in Chris's tone.

"Yes, Mr. Yuki is Shuichi's other half." K announced. He was still thoroughly enjoying the situation.

After thinking for a minute Chris blurted out, "Is his hair blue?"

This set Shuichi into full freak out mode "AUGH, who hired you, you gorilla. How dare you pick on Yuki? You know nothing about him. It's bad enough I have to have you around all day."

Chris just sat there amidst the verbal barrage waiting for it to stop. When Shuichi paused to take a breath Chris stopped him. "Are you done?"

"No, You are not to go near Yuki for any reason, got it?" Shuichi was so cute when he tried to lay down the law.

Chris didn't know weather to be offended or laugh his ass off, "You are such a queen, Shindou."

They entered the quiet apartment. There seemed to be no signs of life anywhere. It seems that Yuki, with the weight of another deadline off his mind, had slipped into one of his narcoleptic fits. Sleep for Yuki in this condition can better be described as mild fits of temporary death. Shuichi found him sleeping peacefully and as usual; he was unable to wake his blond lover no matter what he tried. Shuichi gave in. He showed Chris to the couch and went to bed with Yuki. He was exhausted as well. In the morning he would wake up early and explain everything to Yuki.

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Thanks again to everybody who took time out to read my story. Your encouragement and tips are appreciated. 


	4. The Missing

Hi readers! I am glad you are still here. I am not sure why though, but wile you are here I will do my best to make this worth your time.

* * *

Missing

Of course Yuki woke up before Shuichi, and as you probably guessed, he found himself confronted with a strange man sitting at his kitchen table, who for all Yuki knew, was the stalker. He stopped in mid stride with that look on his face that could kill all by itself. Chris looked up from the table and returned the stare. Both men locked in an epic staring match to see just who would drop dead first.

Yuki broke the silence first with his usual eloquent way with words," Who the fuck are you and what the hell are you doing in my house?"

"Hi, You must be Yuki. I'm Chris, Shindou's bodyguard. We get to be roomies until the killer is caught." Mock humor dripping from his voice.

Yuki's eyebrow twitched, "His what?"

"Yea, K and Brown hired me to keep an eye on your, uh.. whatever."

"You're not staying here."

"What the hell is it with you people? I went through this with Shindou yesterday. Just let me know if I'm really fired, because if I am I have other things to do."

"BAKAAAAA!" Shuichi woke up remembering last night as he stumbled through the door.

"Yuki! I'm sorry. I was going to get up early to explain and…"

"Oh how cute, is baka your pet name?" Chris chimed.

Yuki and Shuichi "Shut up!"

"Ok, fine whatever, but Yuki your out of cigarettes. I just smoked the last one."

Yuki's eyebrow twitched again, Shuichi ran for cover. Mt. Yuki was going to blow. And he did, with a cry that some say could be heard from space, "SON OF A BITCH! Get the hell out of my house, both of you. NOW!"

K was just walking up to knock on the door as both Chris and Shuichi were thrown out of the door, landing conveniently at K's feet. Shuichi sat on the pavement in shock and in his underwear. The door swung open for a brief moment as Yuki threw some clothing out for Shuichi. Shuichi took this as a good sign. At least it was a sign that Yuki was still thinking of him. Maybe he wouldn't have to spend the next few months at NG after all.

On the ride over to the studio, Shuichi was still wondering about how he was going to get back in the apartment after work when Chris finally spoke up.

"Touchy guy." Chris really felt bad about what happened, but he wasn't sure what he did wrong.

"Yea, he gets that way when complete strangers smoke all his cigarettes." Shuichi said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, I forgot to tell him he's out of coffee too."

Shuichi could swear at that very moment he could hear Yuki's decaffeinated scream, but that couldn't be possible they were already about a block away.

Chris stared out the car window as they rode to the studio in silence. Shuichi thought about what Chris might be going through. He knew the American had only been in Japan for about two weeks and he could see that Chris was struggling a bit with the culture. Sure he spoke Japanese very well, but there was obviously a lot he didn't know. Shuichi started to think back on his time in America and how hard it was for him to get around. Oh well, not his problem. Shuichi was happy Yuki threw out his jacket, because he had his new manga stored in the pocket. He broke it out and started reading. It was the latest installment of InuYasha. It wasn't long before he started to get the feeling that he was being watched. He looked up and noticed it was Chris.

"What are you looking at?" Shuichi asked scooting away from his bodyguard.

"Is that the new InuYasha?" Chris asked leaning closer.

"Yea, It's ok, Its been getting a bit boring lately ever since Mouryoumaru became a main character."

"Shuichi can you read it to me, pleeease?" Chris actually gave Shuichi puppy dog eyes, which thoroughly creeped Shuichi out.

"Read it yourself."

"I can't read Kanji yet. I only just learned to read Kana."

"Where did you learn to speak Japanese?"

"My brother and I studied it together. We did it just so we could get un-translated anime on the cheap."

"Really, that's so cool! What others do you like?"

"Full metal panic, Chrono Crusade, Get Backers, Gantz, Chobits."

Before anybody knew it, there was a heated conversation about which anime was the best. The two men had actually struck a nerdy chord with each other. They had suddenly turned into to raging fan boys. Nobody noticed K, until a bullet blew out the back window of the car.

K sat there, with his eye twitching still aiming the smoking gun over his shoulder. "Ughh, you two are such geeks, just shut up, your conversation is sucking my will to live."

"K, what the hell are you doing? You could have killed somebody!" Chris couldn't believe this guy.

Three more shots.

Chris was still about to speak when Shuichi dove on him covering Chris's mouth with his hand. "Shut up already or he really will kill us. He's not kidding."

"Ick," K cringed noticing the new position in the back seat. "What's a matter Yuki not enough for you Shuichi?"

The two of the looked at each other realizing the compromising position they were in. They quickly separated to either side of the car, neither one looking at the other as the car rolled into the NG parking lot.

They all arrived at the studio, a tad bit worse for wear. Hiro and Suguru were already waiting for them to start the recording.

Meanwhile, back at the apartment.

Yuki was still trying to get his day started. After a morning like that the day had to get better, didn't it? Yuki went to get the paper. It was the one morning thing he had left, now the coffee and cigarettes we out of the question. He opened it up another envelope fell into his lap. Oh no, what now? Yuki opened it. It was just a plain simple photograph. It was a picture of Shuichi from behind standing alone at the park. He was looking out at the view of the city. This picture was taken at a fairly close range, whoever did it was had to be only a few feet away from Shuichi at the time. He turned it over. There was writing scribbled on the back. It read:

_I took this the day before yesterday. I could have taken him then, but not yet. Enjoy what little time you have left with him._

Yuki felt his throat go dry as the fear washed over him. He looked at the picture of his lover. Shuichi just standing there not realizing at that very moment his life was in danger.

At NG studios-

Bad luck was in the middle of working on the new album. They had just finished putting the final touches on the third song, when they stopped to take a brake. Shuichi noticed his phone ringing. It was Yuki.

"Hey Yuki, you called! Does this mean you're not mad?"

"Uh Hi, Shuichi, I just wanted to make sure you remembered to replace my coffee and cigarettes before you came home today." Yuki was trying his best do sound as unconcerned as he could.

He glanced down at the picture again. He realized last thing he wanted was Shuichi wandering around the streets. He needed him home where he could be safe. "No, uh, wait on second thought I need to go out anyway. Don't worry about it. When are you coming home?"

"I don't know were are pretty busy with the new album."

"Just come home as soon as you can."

"Yuki are you ok? Are you still mad at me? You don't sound like yourself. "

"No, I'm not mad just try to keep that banana out of my stuff next time, ok?"

The rest of practice went ok, but Yuki found useless reasons to call in about every hour or so just to discuss what they were having for dinner and other such nonsense.

Shuichi was getting worried, maybe Yuki was sick or something. He never calls me at work. He really felt bad about that morning even though he really had nothing to do with what happened. He decided to get Yuki his favorite treat. He knew a bakery that made the best strawberry shortcakes, but he'd have to cut out of work a bit early to make there before the shop closed. He asked K if he could go, but got a resounding NO, but Shuichi wasn't one to give up so easily. They were almost done anyway. He was sure he would just make it up to K tomorrow. He left a note and slipped out of the studio. Chris had just come back from the bathroom when he noticed something was missing. "Where did Shuichi go?"

"He's supposed to be with you at all times." K rounded on him

"I was in the bathroom."

"I think he went to get a drink. I saw him go that way." Hiro pointed down the hall. That's when he noticed the note on the door:

Sorry K, I really have to skip out. I will make it up tomorrow. Hiro and Suguru are tired too they're just too afraid to tell you. Thanks! Love Shuichi.

K turned red; "I'm gonna' to kill him!"

It was a mad scramble as everyone set out to play a round of 'find the missing singer'.

Back at the apartment Yuki got a call. It was K and he sounded a bit hesitant, "Hey, Yuki, would Shuichi happen to be there?"

* * *

Baka is Japanese for idiot (In case there are a few out there who didn't already know)

Are you excited? I hope so. I am. I like action in my stories, because I am too much of an idiot to write meaningful thought provoking tender moments.


	5. You Lost Him?

You Lost Him?

"You lost him?" Yuki couldn't believe his ears. After all the phone calls to check up on his lover, after trying to convince himself all day that he was just being irrational. They lost Shuichi under heavy security, just like the others. His mind drifted back to the day he met Detective Brown, Brown's words came back to him in all their horrible implication 'after that we only find the bodies'. In his distress Yuki forgot he was still on the phone, "Yuki? Yuki, are you still there?"

"Why don't you call his cell?"

"He left it here when he snuck out on us."

"Is Chris with him?"

"No, he snuck out on us without telling anybody." at this Yuki glanced down at the photograph in his hand. This was exactly what he didn't want. The sickening feeling of panic crept over him. His brain started to shut down at the realization that his lover was in trouble and there was nothing he could do. K's voice called him back to reality "We have contacted Brown and we are searching the city now. Knowing Shuichi he'll probably head back to you soon."

Meanwhile-

Shuichi was so happy, he had made it to the bakery just in time. He went to call Yuki when he realized his phone was gone. Shit, he left it at the studio. Oh well, He would be home soon anyway. Shuichi had attempted to get Yuki some cigarettes too, even though the writer told him not to bother. It wasn't much farther from the Bakery, but the neighborhood wasn't the best. Shuichi didn't notice his surroundings, becoming darker. He tried to get in the store. The door was locked. He banged on it to get the lady's attention. "Excuse me, are you open?"

"No." replied the lady at the counter.

"But your sign says open 24 hours."

"Yea, but not 24 hours in a row." She yelled disappearing into the back of the store.

What the hell, oh well, At least he had the strawberry short cakes. He just knew Yuki as going to love his surprise. He headed back home when he noticed something that made him stop in his tracks. He got the weirdest feeling when he glanced at the dark alley ahead of him. He swore he saw something shift in the darkness. Something was there. He squinted, his eyes straining against the dark shadows for what it could be, when a hand closed over his shoulder and a voice in his ear said "Gotcha!"

"AHHHHH!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. He jumped about five feet in the air when he turned around to find Hiro.

"Geez, Shuichi it's only me. What the hell were you doing out here anyway? You had everybody worried when you left like that. I think K is actually going to kill you this time."

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to step out and get Yuki something because he sounded really weird on the phone."

"Come on. I'll take you home." Hiro whipped out his cell phone and made a quick call. "Yea. I found him. I'm bringing him home now. Bye."

Shuichi and Hiro barely made it through the door when a gun was leveled at Shuichi's temple. "Do you have any idea what you put us through?" K was clearly more pissed than Shuichi had ever seen him. Shuichi turned to face him and saw that Suguru, Brown, Chris were also there and none of them looked happy. "Do you realize the damage your little stunt could have caused?" K was seething. Shuichi was backing into the wall be hind him. Cowering before the angry blond.

"I was, um I-I was uh just" he stammered. He racked his brain for words, any words that would make this conversation stop, but there just wasn't anything he could say to make this better.

"Do you realize how many people depend on your safety? Your band, your fans, your friends, even Brown's investigation, we are all depending on you. You didn't stop for a second to think about any of us. Did you?"

"I-I'm sorry K. I didn't mean.." Shuichi suddenly noticed something. Chris had moved from the back of the room and was now standing next to him facing the enraged manager with side by side with Shindou. What was Chris thinking? He was wearing a hardened stare that Shuichi couldn't read.

Yuki noticed this action as well. He was a bit confused about what was going on, from what Tohma had told him on the phone, those too hated each other. He wondered why Chris was taking his job so seriously all the sudden?

Shuichi crumpled to the floor next to Chris's feet. There was still nothing he could think of to say that would stop the verbal berating. He was breaking down fast. He really didn't mean to cause trouble. He just wanted to do something nice for Yuki.

Surprisingly it was Chris who came to Shuichi's rescue, "K, I think that's quite enough, don't you?" Chris said his eyes locked on K's.

Yuki was done with this circus he wanted everybody out, "Listen, he made a typical Shuichi style mistake, but he's safe now and I want to talk to him, so will you all please get just out of my house, now? Brown, I'll talk to you later." Yuki said as everybody filed out of the front door. Brown gave a nod of acknowledgement as he left.

Chris put his hand on Shindou's shoulder, but Shuichi shrugged him off. He was more worried about what Yuki had to say. His mind started to race, "He's tired of all this I know it. He's going to tell me to get out." Shuichi's eyes started filling up with tears.

Yuki saw something flash in Chris's green eyes, but he shook it off as he knelt down in front of Shuichi. With one hand he tenderly raised Shu's chin so he could see his lover's eyes. Man, he was so scared he would never see those eyes again. "Brat, where the hell did you run off to anyway?" Yuki's voice was calm, but just a hint of his concern was slipping through.

Shuichi started bawling," Yuuukiiiiii I'm so sorry. I just wanted to get you something. I-I didn't know it was going to be such a big deal."

"Baka, will you just listen to me for a second here!" Shuichi looked into Yuki's eyes.

"It is a big deal. Until this all blows over you need to be careful. I didn't want to show you this, but this came in my morning paper." Yuki handed Shuichi the picture.

Shuichi took the picture and looked at it when he flipped it over he froze. Chris looked visibly distressed about the picture as well. Yuki regarded both of them carefully. "Do you see Shuichi, This guy is for real. You have to start taking this seriously. Do you understand me?" Shuichi looked up at him meekly, but didn't say a thing.

Yuki realized that when it came to the stalker Shu always went silent. He lost all of his usual over emotional reactions. Was really just that scared? Yuki got up he was having a hard time dealing with all this himself. It was hard to maintain a cold outer shell when inside he just wanted to break down next to his lover on the floor. The feeling he was lose his lover was still grating on him. If only there was a way he could just lock Shuichi up and keep him home safe forever. He went over to the bag Shuichi had brought with him.

"Those are for you. They are what I stopped to get, that's why I cut out of the studio early." Shuichi's tone was clearly one of fatigue and defeat.

Yuki looked down at the shortcakes, as the pang of guilt hit him he noticed that there was a bite taken out of one. "Shuichi, did you start without me?"

"Uh, that was me." Chris admitted sheepishly.

Suddenly Chris was engulfed in a pink blur as Shindou attacked him. It was a diatribe of threats and rants and Shuichi threw all his weight into his attack. Chris on the other hand stood there as if he barely noticed the pink hurricane.

"God, Shindou you are such a queen. I only had one little bite. What the hell is your problem?" Chris groaned

"After everything I went through those were for my Yuki. Your not supposed to touch anything, you, you gorilla."

Yuki realized he now had two idiots to deal with, the thought made the vein in his temple pulse, "Will you two just shut the fuck up already! Chris, enjoy the couch. Brat, it's time for bed."

Shuichi was still trying to attack Chris, who still wasn't moving. Yuki grabbed his lover by the scruff of his shirt and dragged him to the bedroom, threw him in, and shut the door. He turned to Chris, " Stay away from my stuff and especially my laptop, my cigarettes, my coffee, and my beer. If you want a snack the brat keeps his pocky in the third cabinet from the left. Don't eat anything that looks like Shuichi made it unless you want to be out of commission for a few days. It's easy to tell because it usually burnt."

"Sure thing chief." Chris saluted, "Hey, are you going to eat the rest of those cakes?"

Finally the day was over. Shuichi couldn't wait to get to bed where he could use sleep as a ruse to snuggle up tightly to Yuki and forget about the rest of the world. Yuki felt the same way, but something else loomed on the edge of his conscious thoughts. The look in Chris's eyes just after he stood up for Shuichi, what was it about that look that bothered him so much? What was Chris playing at? Still, Yuki felt he didn't have too much to worry about. All he had to do was say the word to Tohma and Chris would be gone in a flash. Shuichi was already asleep. Yuki gazed at the softly snoring form next to him, as he too drifted off to sleep.

* * *

If you think this sucks please keep in mind that I'm a big girl and I can take constructive criticism, so don't hold back, Ok? 


	6. The Kitten

This was never supposed to be in the original story it was just something I toyed with for my own demented entertainment.

If you like kittens, good.

If you like sweet well-meaning idiots, better.

If you have enjoyed my sense of humor so far, then you've come to the right place!

I promise that no Shuichi's were hurt in the making of this fic…. Oh wait, I take that back. That's actually a lie, but it's nothing a few band-aids and peroxide can't fix, I swear! Honest!

* * *

The kitten.

It was Saturday and Yuki didn't want to do anything today. The only activity he did have planned was wallowing in bed for as long as humanly possible. Shuichi had already gotten up and left to hit the gym. This was a good thing, because that meant Chris had to go with him, which also meant Yuki had the apartment, and the bed, all to himself. Oh yea. But it turns out that on this fine morning, Yuki's contentment was to be short lived. He woke up to muffled sounds coming from the bathroom. He grumbled as he covered his head with Shuichi's pillow. They were back already?

He could have sworn he distinctly heard a tiny mew. Oh no, what were those two bananas doing in the bathroom together? They were obviously trying to be quiet, and they were unsuccessful to say the least. This meant they were doing something on the sly, something they didn't want Yuki to know about. The feeling of jealously reared it's ugly head like a cobra readying for a strike. If that guy thought he could take his Shuichi away he had another thing coming.

All those casual glances, the fooling around like two kids. Yuki knew what was going on behind those innocent green eyes. It was lucky for Chris that Shuichi was too stupid to notice and too loyal to betray him, or Yuki would have had to take matters into his own hands by now. Yuki got up and put his ear to the door.

"Ow, Chris, help me pull him off. That hurts."

'Him?' Yuki wondered.

Chris was stifling his laughter "but he likes it there."

"No, he's stuck. Pull him off. How can something so cute smell so bad? Pew."

"MEOW." A cat, Yuki realized what the secret was. They were breaking rule #1,242 (No pets.) Those two morons found a kitten and Yuki would bet money on the odds they had plans on keeping it. Yuki groaned as his mind ran through the arguments he was going to need to convince them to get rid of it. Oh no, too loud. He heard Chris's voice, "Did you just hear something?"

"Shhh, no, but if you don't keep quiet you'll be hearing Yuki yelling at us for waking him up." Shuichi hissed.

"Ick, he does stink. He smells like a port-a-potty on a hot day. I guess we should give him a bath."

"I thought cats washed them selves."

"I don't think a spit shine is going to do the trick Shu. This little guy is filthy. It looks like oil. You don't want him licking oil. It isn't good for him. He already puked on Yuki's laptop once."

"What? Oh no."

"Don't worry I cleaned it up, he'll never notice."

"Ew, do you think we should tell him anyway?"

"Nah, what he doesn't know won't hurt him."

Yuki cringed, he so wanted to give them a piece of this mind, but he didn't want to reveal himself, at least not yet anyway. He knew enough about cats to know that what they were about attempt was going to be entertaining to say the least. He heard the water running.

"Ok that looks good. Shindou, don't you have any other kind of shampoo? It's a boy kitten. I don't think he appreciates smelling like strawberries.

"Why not? I'm a boy."

"No your not. You're a queen." Chris laughed.

"I am not! I'm more man than you can handle." Yuki cringed at his lover's threat.

"Ew, Dude, you are one step away from growing your own set of ovaries."

"Meow!"

"See the cat agrees with me."

"No he doesn't. Do you Ryuichi baby."

"You named him Ryuichi? Why do you get to name him? I wanted to call him Ozzy."

"What kind of a name is Ozzy?"

"What kind of a name is Ryuichi? Forget it, just hold him in the water while I scrub."

Yuki could hear grunts and splashes coming from the bathroom and then an unholy shriek. It had to be the most frightening sound he had ever heard uttered from a living creature, and the kitten was freaking out too. There were crashes and thumps punctuated with foul language and utterances of pain. Yuki figured the kitten was winning. Yuki was right. Apparently tiny animal was a black belt in the marshal art of pain.

"Hey, watch Shindou he's heading for your hair.."

"Get it off! Get it off! OW! OW! OW!"

"Wait, this works now hold still. I just need to rinse him!"

"No wait don't.."

"Roooower." Yuki wasn't sure, but the thought that noise came from the kitten.

Then he heard large amounts of water hitting the floor. Then another screech, Yuki barely had time to get out of the way, as Shuichi burst through the bathroom door screaming. He was drenched, and Yuki noticed a spot of orange buried in his pink hair, a spot that clung on dearly with sharp kitten claws dug in as deep as they could possibly go. The both of them were howling like banshees. Chris ran after them with a towel. "Shindou, where are you going we gotta' dry him off." Chris threw the towel over both singer and cat and rubbed.

It took about a half an hour before they were able to finally pry the kitten off of Shuichi's scalp. It took even longer for Yuki to control his laughter. Shuichi had never heard Yuki laugh like that. He wasn't sure if he should be offended, amused, or call 911. Even three hours later Yuki was still breaking into fits of laughter whenever he looked at Shuichi. On the bright side, Yuki had forgotten all about talking them into getting rid of the cat, for the moment anyway.

When Yuki found the kitten again, it had finally gotten over the indignity of being bathed and had curled up contently on Shuichi, who was napping on the couch. Yuki he looked down on the both of them. 'Don't get to comfortable." He grumbled at the kitten.

The kitten looked up into Yuki's eyes. It stared at him as if to look through his soul, easily reading his thoughts. Yuki reached down and scratched the kitten's ears. It burst into a loud rumbling purr. It was hard to believe such a loud purr came from such a tiny body. Yuki pulled away the kitten looked at him again, this time with a pleading stare. "You're cute, but forget it, you're not staying." Yuki grumbled again.

That's when the kitten gave him the heart wrenching 'silent meow'. It's a tiny plea, so small it's never heard, but it makes the sound of a thousand hearts breaking. It's a move that causes utter devastation to all those who witness it. Even grumpy novelists are instantly turned into puddles of useless goo by this attack. Yuki didn't know what hit him.

'Maybe, having a pet wouldn't be so bad after all.' Yuki thought to himself.

* * *

Enjoy this last bit of fluff. Now that you have been warned, you can proceed to your regularly scheduled chapter "Monsters Rising" 


	7. Monsters Rising

The only things I own are the bodyguard, the detective, the psycho and the poem below. Yes, not only do I intend to torment you with lousy writing. I want to add in crappy poetry as well. evilgrin

Big wave to all my reviewers, thanks! I have to laugh at the people asking me about who the stalker is. Like I'm gonna' let you know, HA HA! You guys are great! If you want to know you're just going to have to suffer through my horrible writing. Sorry!

The words gonna', kinda', are not misspelled I added them in for my own enjoyment. I do know they are not real words.

* * *

In the darkness the monsters creep.  
There is nowhere you can hide,  
because they're not from someplace else,  
but from somewhere deep inside.  
It's the shadows of the human soul,  
from where the monsters rise.

* * *

The next few days were hectic. The amount of stuff that needed to be ready for the concert tour had everybody in state of chaos. Shuichi was spending long hours practicing with the band. Every night he came home totally exhausted. Recording an album was one thing, but working up and rehearsing a routine for the stage was another matter.

Shuichi was also having a rough time adjusting to being guarded. As much as the singer loved attention, this was really too much. He wasn't a piece of china for crying out loud! He started to cringe every time he heard the word "safe". Every time he heard it uttered, he felt like lashing out at somebody. He really didn't want to be _safe_ anymore.

Even with his schedule as bad as it was, Shuichi had started spending long hours working out at the gym. Yuki figured it was an attempt to blow off some of the frustration of feeling like a caged animal. It wasn't long before Shuichi started to get toned but his small frame wouldn't support much real muscle. Yuki had also started to notice other changes in his little lover. When Shuichi pounced Yuki he could feel he was a lot stronger and he was getting a lot harder to pin down during sex, which Yuki kinda' enjoyed. But Yuki noticed other things too, a small bruise here or a scratch there. In the middle of sex he would accidentally find a tender spot. When asked about it Shuichi would always brush it off or have some weird explanation.

Then there was the Chris thing. The two men had been a bit too chummy for Yuki's taste. They had hit it off all right. They actually had a lot in common. They were both idiots. Everybody got the short end of Shuichi's fuse accept for Chris. The two of them were hiding something, and Yuki resented the fact he wasn't in on their little secret. Yuki was willing to let this slide until one day.

It was one particular Wednesday that dawned miserably. The sky was a sheet of light gray and the rain was misty. It clung to everything dampening the ground, the windows, and Yuki's thoughts. He was still thinking about Chris's relationship with his baka. He decided he was going to have a talk with the bodyguard tonight when they got back from work.

That evening Hiro called looking for Shuichi.

"Hi, Yuki I need to talk to Shuichi."

"He isn't here Hiro, I thought he was with you."

"He's not? He left here two hours ago. I'll try his cell." Yuki cringed as he wondered if his fears were grounded after all.

"No Hiro. I'll call him. I'll have him call you as soon as he can."

"OK, Thanks Yuki."

With that Yuki dialed Shuichi's cell phone. Shuichi picked up, "Hello?" he panted. The singer was completely out of breath.

"Shu-chan, Hiro is looking for you. Where are you?" Yuki tired his best to sound nonjudgmental.

"I'm at the gym with Chris." Yuki winced. He knew the bodyguard had to be there at all times but that didn't mean Yuki had to like it.

"If you are at the gym then why do I hear cars going by like you're outside and why are you so out of breath?"

"Geeze Yuki, I'm just heading home now. What's with the 20 questions?"

"Brat, I just wanted to make sure you were safe."

"Yes, I'm _safe_" He snapped, but he immediately felt bad and softened his tone, "Yuki, I'm almost done here what do you want for dinner?"

"It doesn't matter, anything you can find on the way home will be fine." Yuki cursed himself for letting his mind run wild, but just what was it about Shuichi and Chris's behavior that just didn't feel right? Chris had hit it off well with Hiro and Suguru. He was great for a laugh and really loved to pick on Shuichi a lot. His favorite game was, eat Shuichi's food, and no matter how mad Shuichi got at him, Chris would just laugh. Shuichi's anger wasn't even real anymore. It was like no matter what Chris did, there was still acceptance, like the secret they had between them was bigger than the fights they got into. Yuki had noticed that flash in those green eyes again, a look, but was it one of love?

What if it was? Would Shuichi really fall for another man? It was bad enough he had to worry about losing Shuichi to the stalker, but to lose him to another man. No, Yuki wasn't going to let that happen. Not after all they had been through together. It hadn't started raining again until after night fell completely. Chris and Shuichi still weren't home yet. Yuki was really getting aggravated. He didn't like this one bit. Where the hell were they? He was staring out the window when he heard the door open. He turned and grumbled, "It's about time..." He stopped.

The sight that greeted him wasn't what he was expecting. Chris was there in the doorway with an unconscious Shuichi draped over his shoulder. Both of them were soaking wet and Shuichi had a nasty scrape on his upper arm.

"What happened?"

"Shh, He'll be fine. He just overexerted himself. He's ok. Just help me get him into some dry clothes." Chris dropped Shuichi into the bed and Yuki redressed him and bandaged the arm. Shuichi didn't even bother to wake up he looked so tired even wile he was sleeping. The kitten, sensing that his favorite person was home, wasted no time finding a comfortable spot on Shuichi's chest to curl up on. Yuki had just pulled the blankets over the both of them when he heard Shuichi mutter something that sounded a lot like Chris's name under is breath. 'Oh no' thought Yuki, 'that's it. I am having a talk with this guy now.'

Yuki walked into the darkened living room he could see the outline of Chris sitting on the sofa. He flicked on the light. Chris was nursing a reddening patch on his face. Yuki leaned against the wall and lit a cigarette. He stood there for a few minutes as the two men regarded each other before speaking.

Yuki gathered up what little self-control he had left and spoke first, "That's looks like it's going to be a nice black eye in the morning. Who gave you that?"

"Your little twerp."

Yuki was through beating around the bush, "I am going to have you fired if you don't tell me exactly what's going on."

Chris just sat there for a minute thinking, "He made me promise not to tell anybody." Chris sighed he seemed tired of the charade as well. "I have been training him to fight. He wanted to learn how to defend himself. He's been getting quite good at it."

"Teaching him to fight?"

"Yes, but what Shuichi doesn't know is that back in the states, I used to help out teaching a women's self defense class. Most of what I taught him came from those lessons. The rest is just a mix of marital arts and street fighting techniques." Yuki didn't know weather to laugh or get mad, but there were other matters to contend with at the moment. Still, the thought of Shuichi being a tough guy just made him want to laugh. He sort of understood Shuichi's desire to keep it secret.

"Tell me something else. How did you hook up with Brown and this investigation?"

Chris again took a wile before he answered this question. "Can I have a cigarette?"

Yuki resisted the urge to choke him and handed Chris the pack. He took one out and lit it after taking a long drag he started his story. "I met Brown wile he was investigating the last stalker murder. The American in the picture Brown showed you, that was my brother Mat. That fucking psycho killed him." Yuki stood there not moving just taking in what he was being told. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination or if Chris was actually about to lose it.

"Did I ever tell you how much Shindou reminds me of my brother? My brother was the lead singer in a band too. His band was called 'Approaching Zero'. They were just starting to get popular, before..." He paused and took another long drag on the Cigarette and continued." Mat and I loved anime so we both learned to read and speak Japanese. We were real close. Mat was an idiot too just like Shindou. Always crazy, always running in a million different directions at once."

"Does Shuichi know about all this?"

"Told him a wile ago. He got so mad when he heard what happened. I didn't think he could get that angry. I was almost sorry I told him." Chris paused to take another long drag on his cigarette. "Why do you think he didn't have me fired when I ate all his pocky?" He gave a half-hearted laugh, "Man, I hate those things."

"Then why did you eat them?"

"Because I was hungry and I knew it would piss him off." Chris said looking up at Yuki with a lazy grin.

"I'm sorry to hear about your brother."

"Yea, so am I." Chris's had started to sound so tired, "This psycho, he…he loves guys like Mat and Shindou. They're free. They throw their hearts around like the sun gives light. Guys like us we just sit around and feed off of them, soaking up the feelings we're too ashamed to spill." Chris pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to keep is composure before continuing, "After Mat was killed, Brown really tried to help the family any way he could. He was really there for us. Once we got word from the stalker that the next target was in Japan, it was almost like fate was giving me another chance at this guy, since I already knew how to speak the language. I guess Brown hired me so I would get the chance to see my brother's murderer caught, but that's not quite what I want. When I find out who the stalker is I'm gonna' kill the fucker. "

Yuki realized what he was seeing in Chris these past few weeks. It was love after all. The misplaced love for his dead brother. Yuki had moved around and sat down next to Chris. He realized the guy wasn't really a threat after all.

Chris continued, "I will not let that bastard touch Shuichi, he's going to have to kill me first."

"Me too." grunted Yuki.

The two men sat in silence, until the cigarettes ran out.

Maybe it was the exertion out in the rain, or the extra stress at work finally wearing him down, but whatever the reason was, that was the night Shuichi's nightmares started. Yuki woke up to a slight shaking in the bed. He looked at the sleeping form next to him as his lover started to twitch. Slowly it started to build as beads of sweat started glistening on Shuichi's furrowed brow. Yuki decided to wake him up, which turned out to be a harder task than he thought. "Shu, SHU, Come on Shu wake up." He shook his lover by the shoulder, but Shuichi continued to dream and now he was starting to make noises.

"Shuichi!" He sat his lover up, just as Shu let out a scream. It was not a scream of fear. It sounded more like a battle cry of sorts. Shuichi's eyes snapped open they were filled with a look of pure hate. Yuki knew that angry gleam; it was the same look he had seen in his own mirror. They were the eyes of a killer. Yuki pulled away startled, it was like he wasn't Shuichi at all. Suddenly Shuichi snapped out of it. He blinked a couple of times and his breathing started to even out. "Yuki, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Shuichi are you ok?"

"I'm fine. It was just a nightmare." He sighed as he started to lie back down. "Please don't make me talk about it."

"Brat, It was about the stalker wasn't it?"

"Yes, Yuki please lets just go back to sleep." Shuichi wined as the nuzzled Yuki's chest." I don't want to think about it anymore." Yuki put his arms around him. Hugging him tightly. He couldn't help himself from getting lost in the scent of strawberries, Shuichi's scent. As long as they were here, together nothing else mattered. "Shuichi, You know I love you, right?"

"I know, I love you too Yuki."

"Awwwww that's so sweet! I love you too Yuki" came mocking voice from the couch. Damn. Chris had heard everything that just happened.

"SHUT UP, CHRIS" two voices sounded back from the bedroom. They both heard Chris snickering on the couch.

* * *

I suffer from a bit of dyslexia, so my proof reading skills are lax at best. I really want to thank all of you who stuck with this story so far.

The next chapter is called "The Bird" it's a really disturbing chapter. The stalker is really the only one who gets to have fun in the next few chapters


	8. The Bird

Thanks to everyone for your encouragement.

* * *

The Bird 

It was finally time for the tour to start and it was up to Ryuichi the person to watch Ryuichi the kitten wile they were away. Shuichi had a hard time leaving the fur ball behind. Yuki just wanted to know why the hell was Ryuichi crying too. The dramatic goodbye rivaled the one between the two lovers at the end of the titanic movie, but nobody was drowning, pity. Still Yuki had admit he had also grown attached to the cat as well and found him self wondering about the small creature's safety, after all the human Ryuichi wasn't exactly what he considered sane.

The tour started off smoothly. Yuki managed to pull Tohma's strings and score an extra tour bus just for Shuichi, Chris, and himself, but most nights they were put up in the penthouse of whatever the destination's best hotel was. It's good to be rich.

Brown would drop by from time to time to check in with Shuichi. Yuki hardly understood what the purpose of these visits served, since they seemed to do was put them through more stress, because Brown never had any real leads to the culprit.

On Concert nights, Yuki didn't go to watch. He preferred to work on his laptop and wait for the vocalist to get back. His lover would always return both thrilled from the high and exhausted from the effort. He never looked happier then he did after one of his concerts. It was as if all the rest of the world melted away for one bright shining moment. This was also the prime moment for Yuki to take advantage of him, which he did so with glee.

It was the night of the 5th stop on the tour. A wonderful early summer night filled with the songs of crickets. You know those first warm inviting nights you wished would never end. The lightning bugs flashed like the memories of all the summer nights that had come before. Chris and the band were heading back to the hotel after another night on stage, when Hiro noticed something, a flash of movement on the telephone pole ahead of them.

"What's that?"

Chris walked over closer and, "Oh no." he muttered under his breath. It was a beautiful little golden canary, cut and bleeding with it's wings spread and nailed to the pole. It's breath shallow. It's eyes wide with fright. There was a note pinned under it:

_Shuichi, This bird reminded me of Yuki, but he used to sing just like you. I'm done playing with him, so you can have him now._

Shuichi pushed past his friends to see what they were looking at. He stood there a moment as he tried to wrap his brain around what he was seeing. Shuichi never had a stomach for cruelty, but this kind of sickness was totally beyond his understanding. The shock was still sinking in as Chris started his call to Brown. Hiro tried to push Shuichi away from the pole, but Shuichi pushed back. "No!" he shouted, "can't you see it's still alive! We've gotta help it."

"Shuichi don't touch it. It's dying. Just leave it alone." Hiro tried to push Shuichi back a second time.

"It's not going to die. I can fix it. It'll be alright." His voice hinted at the panic rising within him, as he pushed past Hiro and started fumbling with the nails in the bird's wings. The tiny creature kicked its feet and made a halfhearted attempt to nip at Shuichi as he managed to pluck out the nails. Shuichi held the tiny bird in his hands. Its wings stuck out at odd angles a pitiful mix of feathers, fluff, and blood. Shuichi rushed back to the hotel. Bursting through the door, he ran to the bathroom yelling, "Yuki! I need you to call a vet right away!"

"What the hell do you need a vet for?" Yuki groaned knowing another animal was in their midst.

"Just do it." He yelled wile turning on the sink.

"There aren't any open right now. What's going on? Whatever it is you are not keeping it."

Shuichi had made a make shift nest out of one of the towels the bird sat in it staring blankly, not moving.

Yuki went to the bathroom to see what his lover was all flustered about. He stopped when he saw what he found. "Shuichi, what the hell is going on?"

"I can save it." Shuichi didn't even look up at Yuki. He just kept muttering as he doted on the bird. It was more like he was trying to convince himself instead of Yuki. "It's not going to die. It's going to be ok." He said trying to wipe some of the blood off of it as gently as he could, but his hands were shaking.

Chris came in winded from trying to catch up to Shuichi. Yuki looked at him. "What the fuck is going on here?", then he rounded on Shuichi, "Shuichi where did you get that thing? It could be diseased."

Chris put a hand on Yuki's shoulder to stop him. He met the novelists eyes, "It's another message from the stalker." Yuki turned his gaze back to Shuichi who was still working on the bird.

Shuichi was still whispering frantically, "It's fine. It's going to be fine." But it wasn't fine, even Shuichi noticed that it wasn't fine. Shuichi picked up the bird again and panicked as felt the tiny body shutting down. "No, please No." Its eyes grew dull and its body went limp.

It died.

For a moment Shuichi was frozen in shock. It wasn't supposed to die. Why did it have to die? Why! He wrapped the tiny body in the bloody towel and just stood there for a moment. Yuki wondered why he didn't cry. His lover always cried. He could cry at falling leaves, but Shuichi didn't cry, instead he had his hands clenched in tight fists. He started to shake all over. Yuki was about to make a move to embrace his lover, when Shuichi spoke with a tone of voice that Yuki had never heard before.

"I am sick of this guy." His voice was a low and dangerous growl. Suddenly Shuichi exploded. He grabbed the vase of flowers from the vanity and smashed it against the mirror. Glass shattered everywhere, but his anger wasn't sated. He was still blind with rage. He started screaming obscenities as he stormed from the bathroom into the suite smashing anything he could get his hands on. It was a penthouse of a first class hotel, so there was plenty of stuff to vent his anger on, but no matter what he broke it wasn't enough. The bird was still dead, the killer was still out there, and Shuichi was still furious. "I am so fucking sick of this guy! I am tired of waiting!"

He rushed out onto the balcony and roared into the night. "Do you hear me you fucking bastard! I know you're out there! What the fuck are you waiting for already! Motherfucker! I'm going to kill you! You fucking coward!" Yuki grabbed the storming vocalist and held him. He was surprised when it took all his strength to quell the rampage. Finally, slowly, the rage gave way to tears.

"Yuki, I can't take it anymore. I am so sick of all of this the waiting, the watching, everybody looking at me like I'm going to drop dead any second." His voice cracked, "I want out. I want out so bad."

"Shuichi" Yuki still kept the tight hold on his lover. He felt so helpless he didn't have anything to make this better, "The only way out is straight ahead." Yuki cringed at his own useless words. When Shuichi needed him the most all, he had nothing to offer but a meaningless cliché.

Outside the stars shone and the crickets sang just like on any other beautiful summer night. The night was dark and serene, the only disruption was the disparaging wail that rose from the hotel balcony and floated into the darkness.

>

>

It didn't take long before the exhausted singer passed out, but Yuki was still awake. He noticed the light coming from under the bedroom door meant that Chris was up as well. Giving up on sleep he went to ask the bodyguard a few questions that were still nagging him. Upon entering the sitting area he noticed Chris was playing with his laptop! Gritting his teeth and trying to remember that he didn't want to wake his lover, he snuck up behind Chris.

"I know your there Yuki. You can't sneak up on me."

"Ok, then what the hell are you doing on my laptop? Didn't I tell you that it was off limits? Hey, what's that website you are on there?" Yuki noticed that Chris was had logged on to a porn site.

"I was bored." Chris stated as if nothing was wrong.

"So you used my laptop to look for porn?" Yuki struggled to keep his voice in a low angry whisper.

"It helps me sleep."

"EW", thought Yuki. He so did not need the mental image popped into his head. "You have one minute to close my laptop before I kill you."

"Ok, ok there's no reason for bodily harm. Its just porn."

Yuki slumped into one of the plush hotel chairs and ran his fingers through his hair. He was so tired, but something was nagging him. It was Chris who broke the silence. "Brown is coming to get the bird in the morning."

Yuki scoffed at the mention of the detective's name, "Why, is he going to interrogate it?"

"He wants it for evidence."

"I don't think so. Shu wants to burry it in the morning. Knowing him he's going to want to have a funeral for it." Yuki pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

Chris looked out the window, "The killer left a message like this with my brother, only difference is when we found the puppy, it was already dead. This latest calling card means he's getting ready to make his move soon."

"Chris, just how did the killer manage to get to your brother?" Yuki had been waiting to ask this question for some time.

Chris looked at the ceiling and exhaled noisily, Yuki could see the American was struggling with the answer, "It was all my fault really. Mat didn't have somebody, special, in his life like Shu has you. The psycho.. he.. he threatened to kill me. He tricked Mat into thinking that I was the one in danger. Mat ran right into that evil bastard's hands. " He paused again, "When I think about what he did to my brother.."

Tears had started forming in Chris's eyes, but he gained control of himself. He wasn't going to lose it in front of an audience. "Anyway, I have already gone over what happened with Shindou. He knows not to leave my side or yours for that matter. This time it's going to be that fucking asshole who's in trouble."

Yuki got up and crushed out his cigarette in the ashtray on the table, "Get some sleep Chris." was the only thing he said as he disappeared back into the bedroom.

The next morning broke to find the novelist looking over the sleeping form of his lover. Yuki was lost in thought. Shuichi began to stir. He smelled the cigarette smoke and knew something was wrong. Yuki didn't smoke at this hour unless something was bothering him. It was the first sign of danger. He decided to play it cool as he rolled over to greet his lover.

"Morning love."

"I want to talk to you about something. Chris needs to hear this too. Chris! Get your ass out of the mini bar and come here please." Yuki's voice was horse from lack of sleep.

'Uh, oh' thought Shuichi realizing that the second sign of danger was Yuki using complete sentences before 9:30 am.

Chris came in and sat down on the corner of the bed, "I didn't eat it."

Shuichi and Yuki just shot him a look.

Yuki made a useless attempt to clear his throat, when he spoke his voice was still horse, "Listen both of you. I don't care what you do, but I want you to think about what I am going to tell you." He stopped to make sure they were both paying attention, "Killing somebody doesn't make them go away, that is, at least not for the killer. Whatever it is you two have been planning you need to remember that, the dead take up just as much space as the living and sometimes even more so. Even if you kill a monster like that you had better be prepared to carry him around with you, forever. He will become a part of you."

Shuichi wrapped his arms around Yuki and didn't say a word, but Chris looked at him skeptically, "That's what you think? What the hell do you know about killing anybody anyway?"

"That, my friend, is a very long story." Yuki's tone made it clear that, that story wasn't going to be told anytime soon.

It wasn't long after that that K came in to gather up his singer for yet more practice, leaving Yuki with some much needed peace and quiet. He opened his laptop and noticed that 84 e-mails had just come in. He hesitated before checking his inbox. Yep, sure enough, his inbox was full of invitations to pornographic websites.

* * *

The stalker is coming, the stalker is coming, but will bother to Shuichi hide or is this tiger ready to sharpen his claws. 

I have a tendency to write like a schizophrenic. The problem is I forget that my readers can't read my mind (and trust me, that's a good thing.)

Every time I go over this I feel like it just sucks. Pointer and thoughts welcome weather they be good or bad.


	9. The Final Concert

Wow, your still here? I gotta give you credit for staying with this story. Thanks readers!

* * *

The Final Concert

The rest of the tour went off without a hitch; still everyone was happy that it was the final night. The evidence of extra security measures was everywhere. Video cameras, police, security, all the stops were pulled out for this last show. Shuichi couldn't help, but wonder if there was something going on that Brown wasn't telling him. The band arrived at the stage to find Brown pacing back and forth. Looking, for all the world, like the cat who swallowed the canary. Shuichi couldn't help but get a very uneasy feeling watching the detective.

"Everything ready for tonight?" Brown chirped.

"Yea." Shuichi replied weakly. "Mr. Brown, are you expecting something to happen tonight?"

"Not all my dear boy. Why do you ask?"

Shuichi was just about to speak again when K showed up with a gun that looked an awful lot like a grenade launcher, "OK, musicians, it's time to get your butts out there and finish this tour!"

Even Yuki had crawled out from under his laptop to watch this last concert from the side of the stage. As the spotlights flickered on and the show began Yuki couldn't help but be impressed. The power Shu wielded on stage was intense. It was hard for Yuki to see him in complete control over thousands of people and realize that that was his baka up there with thousands of fans screaming for him. That was the same man how cried like a baby when stubbed his toe the other day, yet here he was with the entire crowd wrapped around his little finger.

But the truth was, Yuki really couldn't wait to be back home having Shuichi all to himself. The only thing that bothered him was that, if Detective Brown was right, the stalker would try to make is move soon after this concert. They still had no real leads on the case either. Yuki cursed the stupid detective for not getting the job done.

Now concert was almost over, they were half way through the final song, when over in the far corner of the arena an explosion erupted from the stands. Immediately confusion set in as crowds of people panicked. Shu stopped singing the band stop playing as another explosion erupted in the other corner of the arena. The power went out plunging everything into blackness. Chris caught up Shuichi and dragged him off to the side of the stage. Hiro and Suguru followed him. Yuki could see them making their exit, in the pale emergency lights. He crossed the stage to follow them as the panicked fans struggled to escape in the area below. The screams echoed up, thousands of frightened voices rising into one horrible cry. Suddenly he came face to face with Chris, who looked really pissed off. "He's here.", Chris said darkly.

"What? Where?...Where's Shuichi? Why did you leave him alone?" Yuki stuttered.

"Brown is getting him to safety. I've got something I've gotta' do." Yuki didn't stick around to find out what Chris had planned, he just wanted to find his Baka and get the hell out of here. He raced through the back stage area. It was a maze of panicked people rushing in all directions, as shouts and screams echoed in the halls. He stopped for a minute to get his bearings when he felt something tug his pant leg. He looked down to see what it was and was greeted by a site he never expected. K slumped against the wall of the hallway with a gunshot wound in his left shoulder. This was bad.

"K, K can you hear me? K what happened?" Yuki had dropped to his knees, gently shaking the manager. K groaned as he was still trying to come around. He cursed in English under his breath as he rubbed the back of his head.

"K what happened?" Suddenly K's eyes snapped open. His eyes had a look of terror.

"Yuki! Brown's got Shuichi!" Yuki had never heard K in a panic before. It was really unnerving.

"Yes, I know he's getting him to…"

"No!" K cut him off, "Yuki, Brown's the stalker! He shot me when I tried to stop him." Yuki couldn't believe his ears. He felt his stomach twist. He put the pieces together in his mind as the panic took over. K struggled to his feet.

"Which way did they go?"

"He was headed out to the garage behind the stage. Hurry!" K pushed Yuki in the direction he needed to go. The halls were still full of people darting about. Finally Yuki broke thorough the crowd and rushed for the area K had directed him to. When he hit the exit door to the backstage garage, he was greeted by another horrible site. Hiro was on the ground bleeding Suguru was holding him and Shuichi was in hand cuffs struggling desperately against Brown.

"Hiro! Hiro are you ok?" Shuichi was shrieking, as Brown was pushing him into the back of a car. Yuki ran towards them as Brown smashed his pistol against the side of Shuichi's head. Shu was knocked unconscious. Brown had just enough time to flash Yuki a completely evil grin, as he pushed Shuichi into the car hopped in the driver's seat and sped off into the darkness.

* * *

I really have to thank Wendyghost for pointing out some blatant errors in the last chapter. Thanks hon! It was because of you I was able to save the story for the other 200 people who read it after you. I just feel awful that those three extra lines I added without thinking ruined the story for you. I owe you one.

Thanks again!

The next chapter is called "The First Cut"


	10. The First Cut

The First Cut

Yuki was left standing there cursing the awful night; wile the din of sirens and panicked people filtered up into the air around him. His mind felt like lead as he struggled to come to terms with what had just happened. Everything they did to keep Shuichi from harm was all just wasted effort. All their careful plans had been laid bare by the maniac, who was next to them the whole time. Without knowing a thing, they had all played Brown's game flawlessly.

Yuki looked over to Hiro, he was unconscious and breathing heavily. As he stared blankly at the two remaining band members, a small sedan drove in front of him, nearly hitting him as it skidded to a stop. Chris was driving with a look of intense disgust. K was in the passenger seat loading yet another huge weapon. Yuki could see he was covered in blood and haphazard bandaging. He had obviously done what he could in an attempt to patch up his shoulder wound. K leaned out the window and ordered, "Suguru, I have some help on the way for Hiro, just sit tight. We're going after Shindou."

Suguru was in shock and didn't say anything. He looked up at K and nodded weakly.

K rounded on Yuki "Get a move on blondie! We don't have all day!"

Yuki hopped quickly in the back seat yelling out the way he had seen Brown's car go and they sped off into the night. Since the police and rescue workers had their hands full with a few thousand panicked concertgoers, nobody expected police backup for their rescue mission. And so it was to be that this one small, ragged rescue party was Shuichi's only hope.

During the anxious search for Brown's car, Yuki and K started to notice that Chris was losing it. The young man had started mouthing silent words under his breath, as the night's events replayed themselves in his mind, Brown was the man that had killed his brother, and now thanks to him, he now had Shuichi to torture, and it was all his fault again! He had actually handed Shuichi off to the killer without a second thought.

Chris didn't realize he had started to mutter out loud, "Brown that fucking bastard, fucking bastard was the stalker all along. He came to my family and pretended to care that my brother was dead! We let him be a pallbearer at my brother's funeral! He was right next to me all this time and I didn't fucking know!"

"Uh Yuki, I think you should drive." K said staring at Chris.

"I'm fucking fine, ok?", Chris snarled, "Besides, I have a pretty good idea where he's headed."

Yuki felt like he was about to explode, "How do we know your not working with him? You left his side when he needed you most! What the fuck were you thinking?"

"Brown fucking lied to me. He told me where I could find the stalker, and I believed him. I wanted to be the one who killed the bastard. I wanted revenge for my brother. It wasn't until I found K and he told me what was really going on." Chris paused breathing heavily, "He brought me along to Japan just to watch me suffer over my brother longer. Fucking sicko." Chris kept muttering. All he could feel was numbness and anger. "I think I know what he's planning to do."

"Oh goodie, how about starting with why such a high profile grab. Surely he didn't mean to blow his cover like this, unless he intends to kill all of us." K inquired as he scanned the empty streets.

"I remember Brown saying something about the killings. It was so boring so I didn't pay attention, but there were only supposed to be five for some reason. Five innocents sacrificed to repay something. Damn it! Why didn't I see this coming? I should have seen it!"

Chris was still breathing heavily, as he ran through a red light. A horn blared out as they sped past.

"Watch it Baka!" Yuki spat, "We're useless to Shuichi if we get killed."

Chris ignored him, "I remember Brown saying something about how he remembered every person he had killed…. He had tracked so many monsters that he started to admire his prey. After each kill he felt he gained something. Oh hell, I can't remember."

"If that's true, then it sounds like Brown tracked one too many mentally deranged psychos and became one himself." K wondered

Chris nodded, "That's what it seems, but the fifth victim is supposed to be different. I guess that's why he let us know who he is. It's like he planned for us to follow him."

"Which means you" K turned to Chris leveling his gun at Chris's temple, "are leading us into a trap."

"Go ahead and shoot. My Brother is dead. That fuck killed him and lied to me. If you really think I am working with him then pull the trigger. I don't care. The only one I care about right now is Shuichi."

Yuki reached from the back seat and pushed the gun away from Chris's temple. "K, why don't you save your ammo for the psycho."

"We should head to any abandoned buildings in the area. He likes to take them somewhere he can let them scream without arousing suspicions.", Chris said wile scanning the dark streets.

Yuki winced at the statement. His lover was out there, alone with a monster. A monster that planned on hurting him. Yuki sat back as a wave of helplessness washed over him. "Please hang on Shu.", he whispered to himself.

Meanwhile

Shuichi woke up in the back seat of the car. His head hurt; it felt like it was going to split in two. He noticed they were already driving around in some horrible vacant building complex. He knew what was going to happen, but surprisingly he wasn't afraid; instead he felt a surge of pure anger. He was pissed about Brown being an asshole and playing them all for fools. He was so pissed at how Brown was able to get his kicks watching him and Yuki be afraid all this time. The sight of the dead bird flickered his mind, as well as Hiro and K. Was Hiro going to be ok? He began to smolder at the thought of his best friend lying on the ground bleeding. Shuichi's hate had finally reached a boiling point; he was going to make Brown pay for what he'd done.

Luckily for him, Brown didn't handcuff him properly in his haste to get away. Shuichi with a bit of effort, he was able to wiggle one of his wrists free without being noticed. He slipped off his belt from his outfit and wrapped it around his hands. He was ready. He felt the car slowing down as Brown was turning into one of the empty lots. That's when Shuichi leapt up from the back seat with one smooth calculated movement, and started choking Brown with the belt. Brown took his hands off the steering wheel to claw helplessly at the belt on his neck, but Shuichi hung on like a mad dog. This was his only chance to stop Brown. It was up to him. The car careened out of control and crashed head on into a building. Shindou was thrown forward into the front seat. His head connected with the windshield as it shattered. Shu was knocked out again.

Brown panted for a minute then looked in the rearview mirror at the marks on his neck and the bruise over his left eye. Shuichi had put up a real fight at the concert. He had totally underestimated his prey this time, by now the whole plan had almost been ruined twice. He took a deep breath and collected himself. No matter, he thought, they had arrived at their destination anyway. Shuichi was already proving to be better than he ever imagined. He looked down at the unconscious form and couldn't help but laugh.

When Shuichi woke up he was tied up in a standing position with his face against the wall. "About time you woke up. Can't have you missing all the fun." Brown breathed in his ear. His voice made Shuichi shutter.

Brown was behind him brandishing his blade and that lopsided grin. He tore off Shuichi's shirt and took a moment to run a hand along the pale skin of Shu's back.

"Don't touch me you bastard.", Shuichi growled as he tugged against the ropes.

"Who's going to stop me?" came the low seductive voice in his ear again, as he felt that blade cut into his back. Shuichi bit back his urge to scream, he would be damned before he gave brown that satisfaction, instead his mind drifted to Hiro, Yuki, and his friends. As felt his own blood running down his back, he wondered if he was ever going to see them again.

* * *

Sorry gentle readers, I am just not done fucking with you yet. 

All the chapters are written already I just need to tweak. I have found that it helps to act out the story to see if it's plausible, it also gives me a good excuse to talk to myself.

Pointing out errors is a good thing. It's like when someone tells me I have toilet paper stuck to my shoe.

The next chapter is called "Bleeding Tiger"


	11. Bleeding Tiger

SORRY. I had to reload after my 3-year-old decided to play bang the keyboard and deleteMommy's chapter!

* * *

Bleeding Tiger

Chris, Yuki, and K still searching the silent streets. Chris knew a place Brown had been frequenting for his supposed investigation. For the past week the detective had spent a lot of time in the area under the guise of being onto a lead. It was obvious at this point that, that's where he was setting up his operation. Silence had overtaken everybody in the car; each one lost in their own thoughts as they scoured the city. Without warning Chris slammed on the brakes and took a hard right turn, skidding into an empty lot.

"What you do that for ya' idiot!" K shouted.

"Look." Chris was pointing to the remains of Brown's car. The three men got out to investigate the car. It was empty. They could see the smashed windshield, Shuichi's belt, and the blood. Yuki hoped to god that the blood was Brown's.

Inside the building Brown stopped what he was doing for a moment. Shuichi noticed that something had distracted him. "Shuichi darling, your friends are here for you." Brown's voice was a low grow that barely contained his glee. Shuichi let out a small gasp. Brown continued, "It's about time they showed up. Now we can really start this show."

"Leave Yuki out of this, I'm the one you wanted! Isn't that enough!"

"Hell no, I need them to finish this. This is my coup-de-gras after all." Brown turned to a device he had in his hand it was a microphone. Shuichi couldn't see what was going on, but he heard Brown speak.

The three men outside had just entered the building when they heard the unmistakable hum of electronics being turned on and a voice crackled to life from a speaker above their heads.

"It's about time you got here. Yes, I know you're here. Lets see now. I see we have Yuki, and of course Chris, and is that K there with you? You look like shit K, you should sit this one out."

"Asshole! Where the fuck are you!" Chris snarled

Brown's voice was as calm as someone chatting about the weather over coffee, "Chris, do you know why I picked Japan for this? It was all for you, hon. It was a natural choice since you already had a handle on the language, and I just loved watching you squirm when we talked about your brother. Thanks, I really couldn't have pulled this off with out you." Chris was beside him self as Brown continued his voice changing to a moan, "Shu-chan is so much more than I ever expected. He reminds me of your brother, only he won't sing for me. I miss your brother. I loved the way he screamed before he died."

A gunshot rang out. K had shot out the video camera that was leering at them from the dark corner of the hallway.

"Now, now. You're never going to find your precious singer like that. Yuki dear, you know he's so much tougher than I thought, but he bleeds so sweetly. You're never going to find him in time, but hurry anyway. I can't wait to see you cry over his corpse." Brown turned to Shuichi, "Shuichi please say hi to your lover for me."

Shuichi was silent. The anxiety and loss of blood were getting to him, and he felt he would rather die than be tool to torment Yuki. Brown's calm face twisted into anger. He picked up a stray metal pipe from the floor and yelled, "I said say Hi!" He cracked Shuichi on the side of his knee. Shuichi stifled his scream, but it wasn't good enough. Yuki had heard it. They all heard it. "Yes, that's it. That's the sound that drives the voices away." Brown's voice was now frighteningly calm and lyrical.

"Yuki love, He's not going to last much longer, and he's in so much pain too." Brown said with a groan of ecstasy.

Yuki had the look of a man possessed, "Brown you better run now, because when I find you you're.."

"I'm what Yuki? Dead?" Brown mocked, "Well hurry up then. We're waiting for you."

Shuichi felt like he was going to throw up. How much more of this was he going to have to endure? His brain shut down and he passed out. Brown had finished with the cuts on his back. He admired the glistening red stripes, but his tiger wasn't finished yet and the guests were on their way. He cut Shuichi down and quickly went to work tying him into a chair. When he was done he pulled out a bottle of water and splashed in on Shuichi's face.

"Wake up! You need to be awake!" Brown slapped his face. Shuichi opened his eyes. He could now get a better look at the room he was in. Every part of the room was in a state of decay. It was littered with debris and the walls were spotted from years peeling paint. Everything looked like it had been there for years accept for the monitor on the wall, which was picking up signals from the video cameras Brown had installed in the building. He could make out the movements of his friends on the hazy gray screen. What was Brown planning?

A rough hand grabbed a handful of Shuichi's hair and wile another hand started cutting his forehead. He the delicate cuts glowed crimson. These were the cuts that bled so much. This was Brown's favorite part. Shuichi wasn't paying attention to Brown at this point. He had noticed that the chair he was sitting in was old and wood. It wasn't very sturdy. He could feel it wobble under his weight. Was this his chance?

He opened his eyes and found himself staring right into Brown's manic expression. Brown stopped what he was doing for a second, startled by the sudden gleam in Shuichi's eyes. Shuichi kicked out as hard as he could. The chair flew backwards from the force and splintered under Shuichi's weight. The pain from the cuts on is back shot through his system, as he scrambled to his feet. He grabbed a leg of the chair and readied himself. As he stood he realized his knee was in bad shape. He could barely stand on it. The two men stood facing each other. The only sounds in the room were the ragged breaths from the smaller man.

"You want to kill me don't you? Brown looked at him and laughed. "You're ready. Well so am I!" Brown threw his blade at Shuichi's feet. Shu dropped the chair leg and quickly grabbed it, but he froze again at the sound of a gun cocking.

"The voices, you'll get used to them. Don't worry. I am actually a good guy. I was a fox who preyed on tigers. They gave me power when I killed them, so I killed as many as I could. Again and again, until I couldn't stop."

"You're sick" Shu panted.

"I ate them up and sucked on their bones. Each one added another voice to my soul." Brown and Shuichi were slowly circling each other at this point.

"Shut up you sick bastard."

"Sick am I? Drive the blade home and see for yourself. There is nothing quite like the rush you get when you feel it slice into vital organs. You learn to love the smell of fresh blood. Come on Shu! KILL ME!"

"I'll never be like you. You're insane." At this point, Shuichi was getting really sick of hearing Brown prattle on. The man's take on the way the world worked was so convoluted, just trying to make sense of it was making Shu's head spin.

Brown clicked on the microphone. "Come on guys. We're on the top floor fer' cryin' out loud. What the hell are you waiting for?" Brown leveled the gun at the door. "Come on Shu. Your lover's going to find us soon, and when he does I'm going to put a bullet right between his eyes."

Shuichi started breathing heavily. He could remember what Yuki warned him about, but He couldn't let Yuki die. " You better hurry Shu. I'm tired of living, but if I end it myself the voices won't stop. They will eat me up. It's gotta' be a real death. Do you want to see your love dead? See the monitor? Your friends are coming, and I'm going to kill them."

Shuichi lunged at Brown and grabbed the mic. "Yuki it's a trap! Run away."

Brown punched Shu in the stomach then leveled the gun at the singer's head again. Brown grabbed the mic. back, threw it on the floor, and shot it. There was a large squelching sound that echoed through the building as all the speakers died at once. He returned to pointing the gun at the door. "Don't you get it? No matter what you do he's not going to run. Even if he thought you were dead he would still come. I have seen the love his eyes. It was so much fun tormenting the two of you. He was always there with a loving hand, a gentle touch. Are you ready to watch him die? Are you going to fail him, when he needs you to protect him now?"

Shuichi heard the footsteps coming up the hall. "No, Yuki Run! Don't come in here!"

"It's too late pinky!" Brown roared, as the doorknob started to rattle.

Shuichi screamed "NO!" as lunged at Brown, he was going to kill him. He really wanted to kill him, but everything was running in slow motion.

* * *

Hi everyone! I didn't intend to update this soon, but I just couldn't help myself. I have already started on some other ideas.

We are winding down to the final chapter incase you haven't guessed. The last chapter is called "Crashing Down" I even have a crappy poem I have been working on to go with it. Yea.


	12. Crashing Down

* * *

Death comes in on silence.

It does not have a roar

Its cry, the hush of that final breath

That shutters to the core

0000

So then, what is that noise you hear?

That hideous, deafening sound

It's the howling void that's left my dear,

and your world crashing down

* * *

Crashing Down

The only thing worse than his hatred for Brown, was knowing he was playing Brown's game. Shuichi hated him that badly. At the last second he decided he wasn't going to play the hand he'd just been dealt. He twisted his body so it wasn't the knife, but his shoulder that made the connection. Just like Chris had taught him. He hit Brown low and hard, right below the diaphragm. Shuichi heard Brown's startled grunt and felt the air being pushed out of Brown's lungs, but his satisfaction was short lived, as the bang of a gunshot rang out.

and then another……

and another……

o

o

All Shuichi knew was the stench of gun smoke, blood, and the crushing blackness that closed in.

He felt so tired, he wanted to just sleep forever, but something was calling him. Shaking him gently, urgently pleading him to come back from the wherever he was. He felt something wet hit his cheek and slide away. There was a different smell wrapping around him. A familiar smell that excited and calmed at the same time. He opened his eyes and was back to that dirty little room. Yuki was holding him murmuring his name. "I'm ok Yuki." He whispered. Shuichi stated to look around the room. Was it really over? "What.."

"Fucking idiot. It's not over yet." Brown bellowed. He was sitting on the floor with his hands tied behind his back. He his arm and shoulder were bleeding from where K had shot him. "Do you honestly think there is a way you can get away from me? As long as I breathe this isn't over." He was laughing, it was the frightening laugh of a tormented soul. Chris walked over to him and looked down at Brown with malevolence etched in his face.

Brown looked up, his lips curled into a smile. "I'll say hi to your brother for you."

In a blur of motion, Chris seized Brown by the head and neck, and with a sickening popping noise, Brown went limp.

"Fucking asshole!" Chris muttered as he dropped the body into the dust on the floor. He was in shock as he turned face his friends. He died so easily. It was hard to believe he was actually dead. Chris was stunned at just how simple it was to kill a monster. That man had put him through almost two year's worth of hell and yet was all over so easily, just like that. He somehow felt cheated. He almost wished Brown were alive, just so he could kill him again.

"Chris?" Shuichi's voice jolted him out of his thoughts.

"I-I'm sorry Shu. I am so sorry." He whispered and with that Chris walked out the door. Leaving the other three to watch him go.

Shuichi wanted to say something, but his body wasn't working anymore. His mind had also had problems believing it was actually over. Was he really a monster or just a sick human being after all? A few seconds later, his body completely gave up and he collapsed in his lover's arms.

For the longest time Shuichi felt like he was floating. He could hear singing. It sounded like the singing of a thousand tiny voices just beyond his reach. They were canaries; there were thousands of tiny golden canaries. He watched as they swirled around as one mass of feathers and song. Then they turned up and flew away into the brightness, leaving him behind. He watched as they faded away into an impossible sky. Then they were gone. He was alone now in an empty place he didn't want to be in. He wanted to follow the birds, but his body felt too heavy. That's when he noticed there was a dark reddish spot lumbering towards him. Padding over to him on heavy silent paws, the animal stopped a few feet away and stared at him. It was a huge red tiger. He walked over to meet it and just as he reached out to touch the animal, it leapt at him. Shuichi stumbled back a few feet, but the creature had vanished as well. He noticed his arms were now the same reddish color with dark stripes. He stood there alone again for a minute before he noticed one bright golden spot. One of the birds was coming back for him. His heart filled with warmth at the sight of this golden angel. He could hear it calling him, sharp and determined, just beyond the end of his conscious thoughts. He fought to reach it. The song changed pitch it was calling more desperately now. Wait, Yuki I'm coming I just can't find you. "Yu ki?"

"He's coming around somebody get the Dr."

Shu opened his eyes to a blinding white world just like in his dream; there was a spot of gold like the sun in the corner of his vision. He turned and focused on the face of his…cat? "Meow."

"Oh Ryuichi, what are you doing here?" He said reaching up to scratch the kitten's cheek.

"Ryuichi snuck him in to see you." Came the all to familiar baritone voice. Yuki had been sitting in a chair next to the bed. Shuichi noticed he looked like he had been caught by a pack of rampaging fangirls. Yuki seemed to be moving with restraint as he got up and approached the hospital bed, but it was no use, he couldn't help from grabbing up his tiny lover and holding him close. "Shu, you're going to be ok."

"What happened?"

"You passed out from blood loss. You were out for almost a day. Do you remember what happened?"

Shuichi did remember his eyes grew wide with fright, "Yuki, is Hiro ok?"

"Yes, Hiro is fine. You can see him later when you are feeling better." Yuki assured him, "Brown was no match for him and it looks like you were not doing too badly yourself." Yuki said still holding his lover, speaking into a head full of pink hair. He didn't want to ever let go again. If there were only a way they could just stay in that moment forever he would be completely happy. "Don't ever scare me like that again." Yuki whispered.

Shindou caught sight of something in the reflection in the chrome trim of the bed. "Want to see something. Can you help me Yuki?"

Yuki didn't think he wanted to let his lover see just yet, but he knew there was no point in arguing about it. It wasn't an easy task seeing that Shuichi had one knee fractured and the brace used on it was cumbersome to say the least. He helped Shuichi over to the bathroom. Shu lifted the bandage on his forehead to see several small cuts there. They looked like the mark of a tabby cat. It was then he assessed the rest of his damage. His back and arms were bandaged His knee was fractured luckily it wasn't broken as he thought it had been. There were bruises and lumps and he had a hard time finding a spot on his body that didn't hurt, but nothing that would prevent a full recovery.

"Yuki how bad is it?" he asked craning his head in an attempt to look at his back.

"It's bad enough." Yuki tried to sound as nonchalant as he could "The Dr thinks that with some plastic surgery…" Shu cut him off with a finger to his lips as he looked craned his neck to get a look at the bandages in the mirror.

Yuki wondered why Shuichi didn't seem upset. "Come on, you need to get back in bed. If the nurses find you up they'll be hell to pay." he helped the singer back to his bed.

"Where did Chris go?"

"Nobody's seen him since he left. K has been trying to find him, but we think he left to go back home."

"He left? Just like that?"

"Looks like it."

"I can't believe he just left like that. After all we had been through. I guess he didn't care about us as much as I thought" Shuichi admitted sadly as he returned under the covers of the bed. The kitten promptly hopped onto Shuichi's lap and started to beg for attention.

"Maybe, or maybe he cared too much. He got what he wanted, but I saw the look on his face. It seemed like once he finally fulfilled his wish, it wasn't how he thought it was going to be."

"Yuki, did you take pain medication? You're not making any sense."

"No, are you offering any of yours?"

He would carry the tiger scars for the rest of his life, but somehow it didn't seem so bad. Everyone else seemed to take it much harder than he felt. The scars marked a change in who he was. He was able to face his nightmare and fight. That night a new tiger was born from the ashes of anger, hate, and fear.

Besides it was better than getting stuck in some sick fan girl's fan fiction story. Those people are real maniacs.

A few months later….

Back in America one Detective Chris Porte reported for duty at the head of violent crime investigations. He was the newest detective on the force and he had already made a name for himself. Everyone marveled at the talent he displayed for catching the sickest killers on the top 10 most wanted list. He had breezed through the academy with flying colors, it was almost too easy for him. It was as if he had done this all before.

There were only two strange things that stuck out when people met him. One was his habit of crunching strawberry pocky whenever he needed to think. The other was a picture on the wall of the Detective and a small pink hired Japanese boy. People asked about the picture, but as always only a short reply was given in Japanese.

Sore wa ototo de Nihon desu.

* * *

Translation: That's my little brother in Japan.

* * *

Sheesh! What kind of a dumb ass ending is that? Christ, can you tell I was raised in the Scooby doo era? Oh well, that's what you get when you spend the better part of your day watching Dora the Explorer.

To everybody who read this story, I hope you found that it was time well spent.

Well kids, that's it for this fic. I hope I have inspired others to write a better one. I hope I can count on you to put my in my place when I suck.

I want to give a big thank you to everybody who took time out to review this story. I consider it an honor that you spent time on me. I hope to improve with more stories in the future. So I guess I'll see ya soon!


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